The Huskie men's basketball team has over 100 years of history, beginning with their first season in 1915-16. From 1919-1944, the team won the Rigby Trophy (symbolizing Western Canadian basketball supremacy) an astonishing fourteen times. Their next conference championship came when they won the 2009-10 Canada West title.
Western Canada Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WCIAA)
They began playing in the Western Canada Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WCIAA) in 1948-49 and team went 1-49 in their first seven seasons with the win in 1952-53.
The first playoff run for the Huskies came in 1963-64. In that season, the Huskies finished on top of the standings with a 14-2 record, ultimately losing in the total points playoff series. The best season for the team in the early years was 1971-72 when they finished 11-5 and were crowned Great Plains Division Champion. The team would end up losing that year in the WCIAA final.
During the WCIAA years, nine different people coached the team. They included Fran Pyne, Bob Keefe, Paul Thomas, Dan Zaharko, Bernard Kaminski, John Dewar, Don Newton, Bob Mirwald and Don Fry.
Canada West Conference
In 1972-73, the Huskies became charter members of the new Canada West conference. The Huskies did not make the playoffs again until 1981-82. Under second year head coach Guy Vetrie, the team finished second in the Canada West with a 14-6 record. Losing in the Canada West final, they still had a berth into the CIAU championship and in their first-ever appearance at the national championship, the team finished sixth. The following year, the team returned to the Canada West final tournament and finished with a bronze medal.
The team continued to have success under Vetrie, visiting the playoffs and the Canada West finals three more times. They also added two more trips to the CIAU championships in 1985-86 finishing 4th and in 1987-88 finishing 5th.
Steve Roth took over the team from Vetrie in 1988. Hitting a skid from 1988-99, the Huskies would only see the playoffs once, winning their way to the Canada West final in 1992-93 but losing.
Greg Jockims took over as head coach in the summer of 1998 and immediately turned the team around. In his second year, the Huskies returned to the playoffs, losing in the quarter-final. In his coaching tenure, the Huskies made the playoffs nine times, including three trips to the Canada West Final Four and two trips to the CIS Final Eight Championship (2005-06 & 2009-10).
The Huskies made history in 2009-10, winning their first Canada West Championship and CIS Championship. Finishing the season on a 13 game winning streak, the Huskies ended the 2009-10 Canada West regular season with a 14-6 record and second in the Prairie Conference. Defeating the University of Fraser Valley Cascades in two straight games at home – 96-85 and 99-90 – the Huskies moved on to the Canada West Final Four. The Huskies won the banner with a 96-83 victory over the Calgary Dinos and also knocked off the UBC Thunderbirds 104-87 in overtime in the semifinal. In Ottawa at the CIS Championship, the Huskies defeated the University of Windsor Lancers in the quarter-final 71-68, the host and reigning champion Carleton University Ravens in the semifinal 86-82 and the UBC Thunderbirds in the final 91-81. Showron Glover, Troy Gottselig and Michael Linklater were named Championship Tournament All-Star, with Gottselig earning tournament MVP honours.
In May of 2012, Barry Rawlyk was named head coach of the program after two seasons as interim head coach. In Rawlyk's 10 seasons at the helm, the team advanced to the U SPORTS Final 8 three times, earning a top-five finish all three times. Under his guidance, the Huskies have qualified for the Canada West playoffs in nine of ten seasons with two silver and two bronze medal finishes to their credit. His 137 regular season and 23 playoff victories are both high marks in program history.
Due to an unprecedented worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021-22 Canada West and U SPORTS seasons were canceled.
The 2021-22 season would see Chad Jacobson take over as interim Head Coach following the departure of Barry Rawlyk. The Huskies would end the regular season with an 11-5 record. They defeated Brandon Bobcats 101-76 in the Canada West play-in to head to the quarter-final, where they would defeat the UBC Thunderbirds 88-87. A 74-90 loss in the semi-final to the Alberta Golden Bears would put the Huskies in the bronze medal game, where they would defeat the Regina Cougars 97-93 to head to the U SPORTS Championship as the number eight seed. There they would defeat the Brock Badgers 77-73 and the Queens Gaels 86-60 to nab a spot in the U SPORTS Final. Up against the powerhouse Carleton Ravens, the Huskies would fall 72-85, finishing second at the U SPORTS Championship.
Jaime Campbell joined the Huskie men's basketball's coaching staff in 2022-2023 as the head coach, the ninth in the program's history. Prior to coming to Saskatchewan Campbell served as an assistant coach for the Carlton Ravens from 2018-2022, an assistant coach for Ottawa BlackJacks (Canadian Elite Basketball League) in 2020 and Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks from 2012-2018. Campbell won two U SPORTS championships with the Carlton Ravens in 2019 and 2020.
The program has three players ranked among the top 16 Canada West all-time career scoring leaders, including leader Andrew Spagrud at 2182 points. He's followed by Roger Ganes (1707), Dean Wiebe (1533). Ganes is also the conference's career leading rebounder (1164), leads in career rebounds per game (11.878), and career offensive rebounds (431) and defensive rebounds (733).
The History - Historical Data, Statistics, Awards
Career Records
Individual Season Records
Year-by-Year Results
Playoff Results
All Time VS Opponents
MBB Coaching Record
Canada West All-Stars
Canada West Awards
All-Canadians
National Awards
Huskies & the CEBL Draft
Huskie Athletics Awards
All-Time Athlete List
